I am 22 years old and a relatively new engineering graduate. I have been working probably 6 months or so, and I've been saving around 60% of my income on "bad" months and 75%+ on "good" months.
It has come to my attention that my natural frugal tendencies are actually chipping away at my ability to function. I am used to not having much money and putting away every cent I can.
Issues include skipping meals to save money, not attending social functions because there's a $5 cover charge, not doing anything on the weekends because I don't want to pay the few dollars in gas, and the list goes on.
I know this probably sounds stupid, but I am having trouble stopping being so frugal. I guess it's an ingrained tendency, and it feels like an old hobby to me, but my life has been going downhill fast, and I've traced it back to this.
How can I work towards being reasonably frugal (this means saving money where I should be saving money but not tanking the rest of my life)? I truly only spend money on rent, very minimal food (have symptoms of malnutrition), wear the same clothes for years on end even if they look awful from wear, have awful health insurance to save more money and pray nothing happens, etc.
April 13, 2018 at 09:58PM
